A Damara woman belonging to a tribe which lives near the Lake Ngami in Bechuanaland Protectorate.

The name Damara, which means simply "two Dama women", is not used by the tribe, which calls itself Ova-Herero, or the "Merry People".

There are two sections of the Damara, that of the hills and that of the plains.

PAINTED FACE AS AID TO BEAUTY

The habit of painting the body white is chiefly practised at the initiatory rites common among South African natives.

Women like numerous bangles around the arms and ankles, while bead collars are much favoured.

The bantu delights in snuff-taking, and smoking stands next in his esteem, a big pipe being greatly valued.

Magbada, a negro chief with his harem

A
Babali drum-telephone

A
Balesse negro reposing on his easy-chair made of tree-roots

D.R.Congo

Kuba

An exceptional “Ngaady a Mwaash” mask (Mweel)

Height 37cm

The Bushong trace their origins back to the incestuous relationship and wedlock between the great ancestor Woot and his sister mweel “ngaady a mwaash”
.This fine mask represents one of the tree masks belonging to the royal family and with appeared during rituals concerning the sacred king, initiation
celebrations for boys and any other public ceremonies. The naturalistic face is painted with geometric patterns and diagonal stripes on the cheeks,
representing tears. The eyebrows, nose and mouth are covered by strips of fabric and decorated with glass beads, surmounted by an elaborate cloth
headdress decorated with cowrie shells glass beads.

Provenance: acquired from Kuba king N’boeupe Mabiintsh III and is part from the Royal treasury.

Kuba king N’boeupe Mabiintsh III

The Nyimi Mabiintsh III is fifty years old. He acquired the throne at the age of twenty.

As descendant of God the creator, the king is attributed with supernatural powers.

Due to his top position he is restricted by several constraints: He does not have the right to sit on the ground, and he cannot cross a cultivated field. Apart from his cook, no one has seen him eat. Moreover he never travels without him, and his personal cooking utensils.

It took me three weeks to photograph the Nyimi (King) of the Kuba in his royal apparel, the "bwantshy".

The outfit is made out of material stitched with beads and "cauris" (small shells used an money in Africa) and weighs 160lb. It takes more than two hours to dress the king and two days of spiritual preparation to be sufficiently purified in order to wear the outfit.

The weight and the heat of the bwantshy is such that it is impossible to wear it more than one hour. The preceding king had only worn it three times during his entire life.

D.R.Congo

A Luba ceremonial staff with female figure

Height 97cm

The Luba Empire was characterized by centralized authority vested in a sacred king (mulopwe).

Numerous institutions existed to counter balance the absolute power of the king.

The best known of these institutions is the Bambudye society, whose members are responsible for remembering the history of the kingdom.

The Luba royalty incorporated religious elements into the justification for their rule, like the monarchies of Western Europe.

The legacy of the great empire is still recognizable in the region today, where local customs and art styles often reflect a strong Luba influence.

The Luba people live in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in the provinces of Kasai and Shaba (Katanga).

The Luba, mainly Christian since conversions during colonial times have become an advantaged minority under the recent Kabila regimes first Laurent from 1996, then Joseph since January 2001, both of whom are Luba.

Women in the Luba society held a place of honor.

Besides filling important political positions such as councilors, advisers, ambassadors, and even chiefs, they were also believed to have enhanced spiritual powers.

The Luba are best known for their stools, divination bowls (mboko), beautifully carved bow stands, and memory boards (lukasa).

Originally adorned with a ring of feathers and a collar of raffia fibre, this variety of mask was worn in acrobatic performances.

The mask is divided into two parts at the level of the eye slits–an upper half that protrudes slightly outward and a sunken lower half–yet the overall dynamic relief pattern disguises the two levels.

Thus, this mask relies on a set of graphic design elements to convey its identity.

It is certainly possible that the original prototypes for such masks were simply painted disks, as the mask bears a more "painterly" sensibility.

The raised motifs are variously named: designating a crocodile pattern on the forehead and a python or venomous insect pattern rising from the bottom and both dominated by large eyes that unite the two planes and various facial features with scarification or lunar crests arching along the edges.

The mask and its performance are said to have originated in the mid-nineteenth century with an individual named Moukassa a Touomo, following his apprenticeship in the south of Teke country from which he arrived "with empty hands."